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Markdale Standard (Markdale, Ont.1880), 1 Nov 1883, p. 6

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 ti tv«J'?: KEN'S MTsrm: BY JULIAN HAWTHORNE. One cool October evening â€" it was the last day of the month, and unusually cool for the time of year^I made up my mind to go and spend an hour or two with and poet), and had a very delightful studio built on to his house, in "whTch he was wont to ait of an evening. T^ie stu- dio had a cavernous fire-place, designed in imitationoftheold-fashioned fire-places of Elizabethan manner-houses, and in it, when the temperature out-doors warrant- ed, he would build up a cheerful fife of dry logs. It would suit me particularly well, I thought, to go and have a quiet pipe and chat in front of that fire with my friend. -â- Â» • • --: I had not had "such a cha^of a •v'S^^""" r â-  tr â-  1 judging from the ocuucoi^i^" ^,v^„.~ long time-not,^ m feet; smee^^eiw^e- i?H*K^f5en-a--^irem, not^m (or Ken, as his friends called hioa) had re- turned from his visit to Europe the year before. He went abroad, as heaffirmed at the time, "for. tW purpoies (rf afaidy^V where at we all 8i(iiled» for. Ke|j^ so |kr m^ we knew Mm, was'liiore Ifkely to? d(t'an7*" thing else than to study. He was a young fellow of a buoyant temperament, lively and social in his habits, of a brilliant and versatile mind, and, poases^ft^an igcome of twelve^r fifteen ^uliilf do]|lij^a year he could sing, play, scribble, and paint very cleverly, and some of his heads and figure-pieces were really well done, considering that he never had any regu- lar training in art but he vjas not .51 ' worker. Personally he was fine-hwkmgi " if good height and figure, active, healthy, and with a remarkably fine brow, and clear, full-gazing eye. Nobody W?w sur- prised at his going to Europe, nobody ex- ])ected him to do anything there except amuse himself, and few anticipated that he would be soon again seen in New York, He was one of the sort that find Europe agree with them. Off he went, therefore; and in the course of a few months the rumor reached us that he was engaged to a handsome and wealthy New York girl whom he had met in London. This was nearly all we did hear of him until, not very long afterward, he turned up again on Fifth Avenue, to every one's astonish- ment made no satisfactory answer to those who wanted to know how he hap- pened to tire so soon of the Old World while as to the reported engagement, he cut short all allusion to that in so peremp- tory a manner as to show that it was not a permissible topic of conversation with him. It was surmised that the lady bad jilted him but, on the other hand, she herself returned home not a great while ;ifter, and though she had plenty of op- portunities, she had never married to this (lay. i5e tlie rights of this matter what they may, it was soon remarked that Ken was no longer the careless and merry fellow ho used to be on the contrary, he appear- ed grave, moody, averse from general so- ciety, and habitually taciturn and unde- monstrative even in the company of his most intimate friends. Evidently some- tliing had happened to him, or he had done something. What Had he com- mitted a murder I or joined tlie Nihilists ' ' v was his unsuccessful love afftiir at the bottom of it 1 Some declared that the cloud was only temporary, and would soon pass away. Nevertheless, up to the jieriod of which I am writing it had not passed away, but had rather gatherfed ad- ditional gloom, and threatened to become permanent. Meanwhile I had met him twice or thrice at the club, at the opera, or in the street, but had as yet had no opportunity of legularly renewing my acqu^ntance with him.' We had been on a fooling of more than comnnin intimacy in the old days, and I was not dis{)osedto think that he would refuse to renew the former rela- ticms now. But what I had heard and myself seen of his changed condition im- parted a stimulating tinge of sus])ense or curiosity to the pleasure with which I lof)ke(l forward tt) the i:)rospects of this evening. His house stood at a distance of two (U- three miles beyond the general range of habitations in New York at this time, as I walked briskly along in the clear twilight air I had leisure to go over in my mind all that I had known of Ken ;uid liad divined of his character. After all, had there not always been something in his nature â€" deep down, and held in abeyance by the activity of hi.s animal spirits â€" but something strange and sepa- rate, and capable of developing under suitable conditions into â€" into what As I asked myself this question I arrived at his door and it was with a feeling of re- lief that I felt the next moment the cor- dial grasp of his hand, and his voice bid- ding me welcome in a tone that indicated unaffected gratification at my presence. He drew me at once into his studio, re- lieved me of my hat and cane, and then put his hand on my shoulder. "lam glad to see you," he repeated, with singular eamsteness â€" "glad to see you and to feel you and to-night of all nights in the year. " " Why to-night especially " " Oh, never mind. It's just as well, too, you didn't let me know beforehand you were coming the unreadinegs is all, to paraphrase the poet. Now, with you to help me, I can drink a glass of tama- rind-water and take a bit draw of the pipe. This would have been a grim night for me if I'd been left to myself." " In such a lap of luxury as this too " said I, looking round at the glowing fire- place, the low, luxurious chairs and all the rich and sumptuous fittings of the room. "I should have thought a con- demned murderer might make himself comfortable here." "Perhaps but that's not exactly my category at present. And have you for- gotten what night this is This is No- dead arise and walk goblins, and spiritual beings of all have mem freedona-«i4-p©wwthan on any other day of the year. O^^^^-r^i you've never been in Ireland." .^.^iâ€" " I wasn't aware till now that you had been there, either." Yes,ll have been in Ireland. Yes â€" " self by a|i efib^t, and weait to a cabmet in a corner iof the room for the liquor and to- bacco. slWiile he was thus em'pl'oyed. I sauntered about the studio, taking note of the varidus beauties, grotesqaenesSes, and curiosities that it contained. Many things were theire to repay study and arouse ad- riiiration.' for Ken was a good collector, having excellent taste as well as means to back it, {but, upon the whole, nothing intj5j-estgd me n^ore than some studies of a f lfi»']f i)ifiSt'\^ .i!p.Ug^ly dfOT® ^^^^ and, sequestered positions in *fc«i es and the date d them to be e: was my o graved and fHire^mor^ver^J^y^ fore them. They seem ^^le and pnnu^ ' an old etching point no t more than eignt rtimut uiMlmujBlprehensible a race ^if?ff^'^?SffisX^3- -S«5SS?Xff^ey are as supersti- ^v,.lft1m^ there was 5f^'^^*J^|lrou8^ myself fhal there the banjo across my knees, my fi fsmoki bewilderment He sat gicians. mystified, I confess," said I. what is tjie joke What metli- discovered of producing the this unfortunate .faitistfor exhibitirw qr critieism. There were three or fout'of thof" studies, all of the same face, but in difi'erent poses and co8t#jfc. jrlit d»%h^||e«Ht-'was$ij!rfla^»^ in api^^^^i, »veijR||dji5^^i|i|4 jaT* concealing the features ' lii 'another 'sne seemed to be peering duskily through a latticed casement, lit by a faint moonlight a third shog'ed her splendidly attired in ^veaUig co«|me, \^thj|e:|^s i|jrheB..ha^ and '«ara^^«nd sparl4fii^*^on 'ner J0ov^ bosom. The expressions were as various as the poses now it was denmre penetra- tion, now a subtile inviting glance, now burning passion, and ags^in-a look of elf- ish anp elusive mockery. " In .whatpVer phase, the cotintenanc^ possesspd a singu- lar and poignant fascination, not of beau- ty merely, though- that was very striking, but of character and quality like- wise. "Did you find this model abroad I" I inquired at length. ' " She has evidently inspired you, and I don't wonder at it." Ken, who had been heating the tama- raind- water, had not noticed my move- ments, nowiookedup, andsaid "Ididn't mean those to be seen. They don't satis- fy me, and I'm going to destroy them: but I couldn't rest till I had made some attempts to reproduce â€" What was it you asked Abroad Yes â€" or no. They were all painted here within the last six weeks." ' ' Whether they satisfy you or not, they aj'e by far the bes' things of yours I have ever seen. "' "Well, let them alone, and tell me what you think of this beverage. To my thinking, it goes to the right spot. It owes its existence to your coming here. I can't drink alone, and those portraits are not company, though, for aught I know, she might have come out of the canvas to-night and sat down in that chair." Then, seeing my inquiring look, he add- ed, with a hasty laugh, " It's November, eve, you know, when anything may haj)- pen, provided it's strange enough. Well, here's to ourselves." We each swallowed a deep draught of the smoking aiid aromatic liquor, and see down our glasses with approval. The punch was excellent. Ken now opened a box of cigars, ane we seated ourselves be- fore the fire-place. "All we need now,"' I remarked, after a short silence, "is a little music. By- the-by. Ken, have you still got the banjo I gave you before you went abroad V He i)aused so long before replying that I supi)osed he had not heard my (question. " I have got it," he said at length, " but it will never make any more music." " Got broken, eh Can't it be mended/ It was a fijie instrument. " "It's not broken, but it's past mending. Tou shall see for yourself. " He rose as he spoke, and g!^ng to an- other part of the studio, opened a black oak cofi'er, aiidt(Kik out of it a long object wrapped up in apiece of faded yellow silk. He handed it to me, and when I had un- wrapped it, there appeared a thing that might once liave been a banjo, but had little resemblance of one now. It bore eveiy sign of extreme age. The wood of the handle was honey-combed with the gnawings of worms, and dusty with dry- rot. The parchment head was green with mould, and hung in shrivelled tatters. The hoop, which was of solid silver, was so blackened and tarnished that it looked like dilipidated iron. Tlie strings were gone, and most of the tuning-screws had dropped out of their decayed sockets. Al- together it liad the appearance (jf having been made before the Flood, and been forgotten in the forecastle of Noah's Ark ever since. "It is a curious relic certainly," I said. " Wliere did you come across it? I had no idea that the banjo was invented so long ago as this. It certainly can't be less than two hundred years old, and may be much older than that. " Ken smiled gloomily. " You are quite right," he said; " it is at least two hun- dred years old, and yet it is the very same banjo that you gave me a year ago." "Hardly," I returned, smiling in ipy turn, " since that was made to my order with a view to presenting it to you." "I know that; but the two hundred years have passed since then. Yes, it is absurd and impossible, I know, but no- thing is truer. That banjo, which was made last year, existed in the sixteenth century, and has been rotting ever since. Stay. Give it to me a moment, and I'll convince you. You recollect that your name and niine, with the date, were en- graved cm the silver hoop V " Yes and there was a private mark of my own also." "Very well," said Ken, who had been rubbing a place on the hoop with a cor- ner of the yellow silk wrapper ' ' look at that." I took the decrepit instrument from him, and examined the spot which he had rubbed. It was incredible, sure enough posure logs '^Coio od hav^ you decay 5of centuries on ,• • j. banjo I J, have heard of an ^elixir to countebet the effects of time, but your receipt! seems to work the other wayâ€" to maMe time rush forward at two hund- red tirtes his usual rate, in one place, while he jogs on at his usual gait else- where. Unfold your mystery magician. Seriously. Ken, how on earth did the thing â- hkppefiT' â€" " ^^ ^J â- " "I know no jjiore about it than you qo, was his reply. ' " Either you and I and all the rest of the living word Are insane, «K)«i^e there has been wroi^ht a miracle fis'flirange as any in tradition. How can i*ft ej^lain it It is a commpn sayingâ€" a if you will â€" that common experience. we tremendous oc- may, on certain trymg or t» â-  »ns. live years, in a moment. But Lat's a mental experience, not a physical one, and one that applies, at all events,- only to human beings, not to senseless things of wood and metal. You imagine the thing is some trick or jugglery. If it be,.I don't know the secret of it. Tlxere^s noahemical appliance that I ever heard of thai will get a piece of solid wood into that condition in a fewmontlis, or a few years. And it wasn't done in a few years, or a few months eithei" A year ago to-day at this very hour that baiijo was as sound as when it left the maker's hands, a,nd twenty-four hours afterward â€" I'm telling you the simple truth â€" it was as you see it now." The gravity and earnestness with which Ken made this astounding statement were evidently not assumed. He believed every word that he uttered. I knew not what to think. Of course my friend might be insane, thoutrh he betrayed none of the ordinary- symptoms of mania but, how- ever that might be, there was the banjo, a witness whose silent testimony there was no gainsaying. The -.more I meditated on the matter the more inconceivable did it appear. Twohundredyears â€" twenty-four hours those were the terms of the pro- posed equation. Ken and the banjo both affirmed that the ecjuation had been made all worldly knowledge and experience af- firmed it to be impossible. What was the explanation 1 What is time What is life? I felt myself beginning to doubt the real- ity of all things. And so this was the mystery which my friend had been brood- ing over since his return from abroad. No wonder it had changed him. More to be wondei'ed at was it that it had not changed him more. "Can you tell me the whole story?' I demanded at length. Ken quafiied another draught from his glass of tamarind-water and rubbed his hand through his thick brown beard. "I have never spoken t(j any one of it here- tofore, "' he said, ' ' and I have never meant to speak of it. But I'll try and give you some idea of what it was. You know me better than any (me else you'll under- stand the thing as far as it can ever be understo(xl, and perhaps I may be relieved of sjme (jf the opi)ression it has caused me. For it is rather a ghastly memoiy to graj)- ple with ahme, I can tell you." Hereupon, without further preface. Ken related the following tale. He was, I may observe in passing, a naturally fine nar- rator. There were deep, lingering tones in his voice, and he could strikingly en- hance the comic or pathetic efi"ect of a sentence by dwelling here and there ujwn some syllable. His features were equally susceptible of humorous and of solemn ex- pressions, and his eyes were in form and hue wonderfully adapted to showing great varities of emotion. Their mournful as- pect was extremely earnest and aff'ecting and when Ken was giving utterance to some mysterious passage of the tale they had a d(iubtful, melancholy, exploring look which appealed irn^sistibly to the im- agination. But the interest t)f his story was too pressing to allow of noticing these incidental embellishments at the time, though they doubtless had their influence upon me all the same. "I left New York on an Inman Line steamer, you remember," began Ken, " and landed at Havre. I went the usual round of sight-seeing on the Continent, and got round to London in July, at the height of the season. I had good intro- ductions, and met any number of agree- able and famous people. Among others was a young lady, a country-woman of my ownâ€" you know whom I mean â€" who in- terested me very much, and before her family left London she and I were engag- ed. We parted there for the time, be- cause she had the Continental trip yet to make, while I wanted to take the oppor- tunity to visit the north of England and Ireland. I landed at Dublin about the first of October, and, zigzagging about the country, I found myself in County Cork about two weeks later. "There is in that region some of the most lovely scenery that human eyes ever rested on, and it seems to be less known to tourists than many places of infinitely less picturesque value. A lonely region too during my rambles I met not a single stranger like myself, and few enough na- tives. It seems incredible that so beauti- ful a country should be so deserted. After walking a dozen Irish miles you come across a group of two or three one-roomed cottages, and, like as not, one or more of those will have the roof off and the walls in ruins. The few peasants whom one sees, however, are affable and hospitable niellow strength of lungs su^H often hear outside of ^^^^fmti^'^-- met the party, and emptied Mr'"'""' i^uck-sh, â€"^ i'^^^j, 0.11(1 ein])tie([ " ThI vampires fled, and the the* fair lady, still in a state ,f „, â- , .^.A Im house., ^J^^l'"^^- Mr. Kenin«HW. ..^.."^^*«^^ lii house ^Iwn, Mr. Keningale.- uh^,,^^ the aaliei „ut „f ' pipe, ye re after passing that verv " on yout,.way li6te. TUe ,n; ' dark ^tqchway- undertieatli big muIlKjned window at recollect, hanging- (H'er ' "'""'""â-  v- might say â€" ' " ' Go 'long wid tlie hcmse. Dr T, deen, dear, m^....^-.,.... i -i â-  ' and omens, as the men whom St botto nless liass. Upon the wlole, I met with po nation on my travels' whbrie cc*m- pany I en|oyed so. piu«h» dr who inspiTfid me with so much kindliness, curiosity, and lepuj nance. " J .t length I got to a place on the sea- coast which I will not further specify than io sa it was not many miles from Bal- lyina ;heen, on the south shore. I have seen! Venice and Naples, I have driven along the Cornice road, I have spent a month at our own Maunt.-I)esert,.aiid L. say that all of them toge«i(»r-are ^n«t J»eautif ul a».Jii«.^lawiiig,.iieep-hued,-8oft.-.4..4octo£,. Jmockiog gleaming, silvery -lighted, ancient harbor and town, with the tall hills crowding round it and the block cliffs and head- lands planting their iron feet in the blue, transparent sea. It is a very old place, and has had a history which it has out- lived ages since. It may once have had two or three thousand inhabitants it has scarce five or six hundred to day. Half the houses are in ruins or have disappear- ed many of the remainder are standing empty. All the people are poor, most of them abjectly so they saunter about with-: bare feet and uncovered heads, the women in quaint black or dark blue cloaks, the men in such anomalous Attire as only an Irishman knows how to get together, the children half naked. The only comfort- able-looking people are the monks and the priests, and the soldiers in the fort. For theie is a fort there, constructed on the huge ruins of one which may have done duty in the reign of Edward the Black Prince, or earlier, in whose mossy embra- sures are mounted a couple of cannon, which occasionally sent a practice -shot or two at the cliffs on the outer side of the harbor. The garrison consists of a dozen men and three or four officers and non- commissioned officers. I suppose they are relieved occasionally, but those I saw seemed to have become component parts of their surroundings. ' ' I put up at a wonderful little old inn, the only one in the place, and took my meals in a dining-saloon fifteen feet by nine, with a jjortrait of George I. (a print varnished tj preserve it) Ixanging over the mantel-piece. On the second evening after dinner a young gentleman came in â€" the dining-saloon being public property, of course â€" and ordered some bread and cheese and a bottle of Dublin stout. We presently fell into talk he turned out to be an officer from the fort. Lieutenant banjo ring as it had neverrung befo Oie-s^ries that Dr. Dude^ntS a "^^ was one about the Kern (,f n, ®^"8»it? wife, Ethelind Fiongulaj'Jt"i^^it; interpreted signifies ' the w},ii i "t- ed.' The lady, it appea^w^?^*^ awai' on the wedding niidit 1« ""'l vaiipires, who, it would seen." ""5' ' ±hai periQtl a prominent feat L^^^ ' theft'roitbles of Ireland. But S ""'^^ beakng her along-she l.eiiw 1^*^^^ -t^ that supper where she wa n r'"-^ but to be eaten, the younsKm uTrV""" who happened to be out^ ^^^J- gun at r ' "11 came,; O'Connor, and a fine-young specimen of the Irish soldier he was. After telling me all he knew about the town, the sur- rounding C(juntry, his friends, and him- self, he intimated a readiness to sympa- thize with whatever tale I might choose to pour into his ear and I had pleasure in trying to rival his own outspokenness. W^e became excellent friends we had uj) a lialf-pint of Kinahan's whiskey, and the lieutenant exj)ressed himself in terms of high j)raise of my countrymen, my coun- try, and my own particular cigars. When it became time for him to depart I accom- j)anied him â€" for there was a splendid moon abroad â€" and bade him farewell at the fort entrance, having promised to come over the next day and make the ac- (juaintance of the other fellows. ' And mind your eye, now, going back, my dear boy,' he cjilled out, as I turned my face homeward. 'Sure 'tis a siX)oky place, that grave-yard, and you'll as likely meet the black woman there as anywhere else 1' "The grave-yard was a forlorn and barren spot on the hiU-side, just the hith- er side of the fort thirty or forty rough head-stones, few of which retained any resemblance of the perpendicular, while many were so shattered and decayed as to seem nothing more than irregular nat- ural projections from the ground. Who the black woman might be I knew not, and did not stay to incjuire. I had never been subject to ghostly apprehensions, and as a matter (jf fact, though the path I had to follow was in places very bad go- ing, not to mention a hap-hazai-d scram- ble over a ruined bridge that covered a deep-lying brook, I reached my inn with- out any adventure whatever. "The next day I kept my appointment at the fort, and found no reason to rfigret it and my friendly sentiments were abun- dantly reciprocated, thanks more especial- ly, perhaps, to the success of my banjo, which I carried with me, and which was as novel as it was popular with those who listened to it. The chief personages in the social circle besides my friend the lieu- tenant were Major Molloy, who was in command, a racy and juicy old campaign- er, with a face like a sunset, and the sur- geon. Dr. Dudeen, a long, dry, humorous genius, with a wealth of anecdotical and traditional lore at his command that I ha,ve never seen surpassed. We had a joUy time of it, and it was the precursor of many more like it. The remains of October shpped away rapidly, aod I was obliged to remember that I was a travel- ler in Europe, and not a resident in Ire- S?; il^^J"""' ^^^ «uiÂ¥eon, and the heutenant all protested cordially against ray proposed departure, but as there was " help font, they arranged a farewell take place in the fort on All- no dinnerto halloween, "I wish you could dinner -with me It Irish good-fellowship. J^flf**. HT ' *^® "^Jo" ^a« better than Je best of Lever's novels the UeutenTt I^v^'^T'^a" Wy good-humor, f^n .1- ' ^^ sentimental rhapsodiea anent this or the other pretty trirroft^ neighborhood. For mf paS^J^'e tJ^ have been at that was the essence of Dr. Dudeen -was â-  and lit the Mreft. ^i i"U.se. Dr. interrupted the iieuten.n- 'sure can t you see we're all dvi, what happened to sweet Mi^sFi.Ii' God be^o()d to her, wlien I wasaftCTt-' ting her safe upstairs- ' " "'Faith, then, lean tellyetht- self, Mr. "Cmnor.'exelaiii;ecltheL'i- imparting a rotarj- uiotKai t.i thcvt-' nants of whiskey in his tumhltr. -J-T question to be solved on geiiei-al i.-ir pies, as Cohmel O'Halh ran said that'tir" he was asked what he'd do if he'd h^ the Dook o' Wellington, and the Pi^ sians hadn'tcome up in the nickd'timt ' Waterloo. ' Faith,' says the colonel â- ] â-  tell eâ€" ' •"â- Arrah, then, iiiaj.,i-. whv wnuM ,. be interruptiti' the doctor^ and Mr. Kd!;- â-  gale there lettin' his ghi.s,s stay emptv: he htarsâ€" The Lord save \k "tlie bcr:- â-  empty!' " In the excitement conseiiuent ir this discovery, the thread of the ddctl.rs story was lost and before it could be re- covered the evening had advanced m k that I felt obliged to withdraw. It t'.M;: some time to make my proposition Iick and comprehended and a still longer timr to put it in execution so that it was fulir midnight before I found myself stanc- ing in the cool jjure air niit.side the ir. with the farewells of my bfjnu C(jmfiaii;i^. ringing in my ears. "Considering that it liad heen mIic:; wet evening in-d( lors, I was in a remarkaiiv good state of preservation, |and I tkerr fore ascribed it rather to the roughnes? th(j road than to the smoothness nf ;I- liquor, when, after advancing a few r"i.- I stumbled and fell. As 1 picked mkli up I fancied I heard a laugh, an; supj)osed that the lieutenant, who haii a.- companied me to the gate, was makm. meiiy over my mishap hut on liwiir., round I saw that the gate wiis closed anc no one was visible. The laugh, ui'irf over, had seemed to be cluse at hand, i:x. even tobe jiitchedin a keytliat w-as rat'.r: feminine than -masculine. f cnur-f 1 must have lieen deceived nubudy «â- :â- â€¢ near me my imagination had playeu :;.â- : a trick, or else tliere w-as nmre trutlub. I)oetr5' in tlie tradition than HalLiwrtOii- the carnival-time of disembodied spir- it did not occur to nie at the time tha:;. stumble is held by the superstitious Ii-i to be an evil omen, and had I reniemk- ed it it would only have been to laugh a' it. At all events. 1 was physically n.c.r the worse for my tumble, and I resiim^ my way immediately. " But the path was singularly lUtiitu.; tofind. orratherthepathlwasfollowmgai'l not seem to be the right one. I dw^^ recognize it 1 could have sworn (excepn knew the contraiT) that 1 had "^ver sv-' it before. The moon had risen, thoiighn.. light was as vet obscured by clouds. â- '• neither mv immediate suri-oumluiip' ^•â- . the general aspect of the region apl-eai;' familiar. Dark silent hill-sides in; 'un--' up on either hand, and the road. t'T";^ most part, ])lunged downwani. as i conduct me into'the bowels of the e.i.- The place was alive with strange ed|;- so that at times 1 seemed to be waU- through the midst of muttering i-. â-  and a wild. tan- â- d ever and ;iii and mysterious whi3i)ei-s sound of laughter seeiiieii to reverberate among the pisses o^^^ hills. Currents of cdder air sigB'r^^^ through narrow defiles and darivc touched my face as with airy fing«^;^^^; cert^n feeling of an.xiety and inse^^^^^ began to take possession ot me- ^^ there was no definable cause for" that I might be belated mgetogn ^^^ With the perverse instinct ottno are lost I hastened my steps, bu ^,„. peUed now and then to glance L«c ^^^^, my shoulder, with a sensation pursued. But no living sight. The moon, however creature wasU"' e^ higher, and the clouds th^^*'^, ing. slowly across the sky flung .^^^ dril' the n^ed vaUey dusky shadowy, -^j;^ ^^, casionally assumed shaFstnat ^^^^^ the vague semblance of g'g»" forms. ,nrn-in2 " "How long I l»-i been hj? kid'-: ward I know not, when, J^'h^si suddemiess, I found myself app grave-yarc .^^^ ^^ ^-ostdtep-) One of the Mexicans '^l^l'f^Jni^ murder of the four m^" ^^..d citiz^f Gardner was overtaken by an ^i: A rope was placed ronndj^ ^^^ ,f a other end fastened ^^j^ned in^ horse, who was then ff g^f _Vks s^i run, dragging the culpn; 3 that h^ stumps untd dead. He f^'^iocor^ self and companions were mi the mnrdeiw KB KITS CO JtJLxak Shop. w. i.„ii is covered ir i^aU is cover in bv |^'"^T"the gable ends .^f h'^^P^uapproveiJ ^^1'"" *iS^Jie?kl*^« in, h^h or frent side, opei r:!Sjacingthed..«.rBofth Cseat of j^'stic. IS Venn iKne witli" talile lu l ffrestssimiJyKnmkst^ ,;tetion.of a human ban r'^fthe pens with whidi I S sentences. Behind tb Jj a large mnnber ..T vc b'ards or stands, the Koa, ,dwithluer-gl.v]'lHcs,1- ^d with Uier^glv] dues ^,{ the mandarin. law occasio lot; r lllnl iiudlv him Tliev go «•"â- ='â- ' i'^ea.! "ttol hife'gof^d»i*'«s .m a v ^lychtlu!y-£«lMit".li'U^ (•hen at ,, nee puts in the liair • it is ' testimoiiuii :Sbeseenl.y.-aHt^-c" "â- nd it can be earned uut whenever he g"e,^:;2!"" .jjjte. Saul an \\feni:iu '.,-,,ni',aniedii||[a.s-fioMw â-  â- ,„ai-ds must be very r..u iK.inted suur.- U )t arouiiii .j the-Y shi it ii"\\. yiajjv 111^' ' 5^vi"-i 'U .â- nie time "i- (AW. 'i-uyli t)ur intiod*ieTiHi to^li ^1 the presence "f a lirt '^,m speaTi' notWnij Tnit was polites. Ip.t 11^-1.1 ...n eould not ^*:itHfe juHiu-e li.dit. Try pi-is'Hiers lo the •syteitci* l^^f sii ^-p}? 'Etf- ^if-e »-ifW* U- we must come a littlti' 1; famed when (»-«imp hai cmdles were Ifekteo. felt he could T.eiiu. 1 .-ized for the piuucity ..f last he jirepared t'l rake hinted that those he w with might well make ii f.r they were parlous r' ing of many stri]ies w ti give them. Then, ui led the way from hi^ rot iudgment'Seat. preccdec • with^ ti'waiendous ltuu; lows-Mfi|U3i^h red eon each ai-nit^d with split b ir.en Ije^ring cangnes- 1 of lyArdAifStJra neck-hc .^ang wei^ the,g' -ng. the lictors. "Ay '" si ^ho S^-aSse gatlvf -ed in t xertt'Mi^. ehen tn exec saw that on a form nea SAt a ragged and misei ently wait ing for sonw doleful. They alone yard shouted not. Tli ing to do later on. anc Serving their power; shortly received go â- 'Chang Huen." .sai( .r'ChMiiL HmXi ... rfM^i ^.ivrtath^ was*2fcd..^tlie ^t i- the verinili'"n t;iblc his knees, but all to i hundred .bloNvs, c-j 1x.king at his judieia the culprit was sei/. witlHF(e=i«»*hWftl *caps alongljie tftoiies.in • p^iint .ijrl^e. the m • good view of liiui. ai face, his arms iieing by onisJlijtoLj H\liile portion 4 iii's clotluu dently klTmt xrhTt w hcwled piteoiisly. save him, for so .- had got hyn intv» piv knelt oil- hiiu.«.ne f' boo^.game lij), 'and, ground, 1')eg;1n t(' str part of the naked blows as thev fell, pite Chang Huen's tlie r, r rioiisHMBMT \\ but 1 saw soon aftt. was alrewAy Idack, twenty-five strokes or quit^e'six inches No. 2 ;now.4sime. uji twenty-five then 1 ther turn, and lastl; It ^ill perhaps be t ' thus inflicted wouh' skin was not bi-okt that the bruises wi tan days at most. flogged^a* thev are shoulder1)Iades. ar more, though I wa? withoitti lew^akiiig tl piinful than it h h iwever, had very was evidently eithc cunious man, for n iij n'er :th«i he w more by the pigtai the yard to the pri he 3cr^6ching^ loud Far more fortun followed him, and doASTi by the lict,i] in such a way thai s ,e them plainly iiisan V I asked o: preter. "He mea not spoilee too im %he instantaneous •lid I, ' 'he cannot I' under ftve ho8»of t sai^ the inteq)re h -.f

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